Page 21 of Gaming with the Gargoyle in Hallow's Cove
Main Street is decorated with extra lights, so that parents can keep track of their kids. This year, Adri, our local yeti ski instructor has stuffed himself into what is surely the largest size of referee costume, but it’s still way too small. He’s swaying on his feet like he’s already drunk as he wanders around blowing his whistle at random people and telling them they are committing random violations like “not having enough fun.” He blows it at a group of kids and he’s swarmed by them in seconds. I don’t know if being their personal jungle gym is what he had in mind, but the kids are definitely having a good time with it, and judging by the smile on his face, he is too.
Outside of the diner, Ted has moved several coolers out for people to grab cold sandwiches while he flips burgers. While Midnight Mayhem is a night for many monsters to embrace their culture and heritage, Ted always mans the grill. “What am I going to do, go hang out in the forest alone?” he said one year when I asked him about it.
At Cool Beans, Mitch and Clay, the wolf-men owners, have a collection of pastries set up and if it’s like prior years, each of them will have some sort of surprise. The pastries have wolfsbane in them, which doesn’t actuallyhurtwolves, it just interferes with monster olfactory functions, making sure everyone gets the same level of prank. Gabe and I each grab one, and as I catch Mitch’s eye he raises his brows and smirks. He is dressed as a blueberry pie, with intricate lattice work and three-dimensional berries that seem to be coated with something so they glisten. Next to him, looking for all intents and purposes unamused with the festivities, is his husband, Clay, wearing an apron. He gives us a nod, and it looks like he suppresses a chuckle when he sees which pastries I’m holding. Great, now I am a little bit terrified to try them. Clay might pretend like he hates Midnight Mayhem, but he has always gotten really into the pranking aspect of it, so he can’t hate it too much.
Gabe tucks me away when he sees Jake and Hayley. They are wearing a couples costume, which I know is a reference to an anime. The long white hair, ears and tail that Jake is sporting, paired with Hayley’s green school-girl outfit and short black wig couldn’t mean anything else, but I imagine some other people will have no idea what they are. Hayley waves at us, smiling wide, and bouncing a little. It’s only her second Midnight Mayhem in Hallow’s Cove, but she seems to really love it here. Growing up, there weren’t many humans in Hallow’s Cove, so I’d been excited when her aunt Betsy moved to town. A few of the other kids didn’t like having a human at school growing up, so I always loved seeing Betsy and her mate as an example of how humans and monsters could live together.
“Look at you guys!” I give Hayley a big hug. “You look great!”
“Thanks, it was between this and some sort of abduction situation, but I think that will have to wait until next year. I’ve always wanted to do this kind of a couples costume, so this seemed like the perfect excuse.”
“Oh, totally! Plus, this means that this year Jake hasn’t assembled his costume from a random assortment of stuff at the store and is giving us a hard time all night because we can’t guess what he is." I say, elbowing him. He and Gabe seem to be having a relatively intense, hushed conversation, though I can’t guess what it might be about.
I frown at Gabe and he tunes back in. “Yeah, you guys look great.”
“You guys look great too, I’m really into the whole virgin nun and her gargoyle thing.” Jake says, wagging his eyebrows at us. I suddenly have the distinct impression that at least Jake knows what we’re up to, or strongly suspects it, which kind of makes sense, considering it was originally his idea. “You guys decided against ketchup and mustard this year?”
“I decided it was time the world saw how hot Gwen is.” Gabe says, making me blush even harder. He pulls me into his side, so that his arm is around my waist. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Jake and I have designed this really cool luge for his booze. With a system of locks and stuff. You guys should definitely check it out later.”
“That sounds so cool! Let’s go check it out!” As we walk, we look at all of the shops and activities. Barnaby has a small selection of curated books on different pranking holidays and monster traditions. Maisie looks overjoyed and like she is drinking absolutely everything in. Barnaby is speaking to Rick, the minotaur who runs the local hardware store. I was under the impression that they were relatively good friends, but though he is nodding along to whatever Rick’s saying, Barnaby's eyes are glued to Maisie. They look so in love, it makes my heart pinch. Maisie is speaking to a group of children, she’s dressed as Count Dracula and is saying “mwahahaha,” making them giggle. But every so often, she still reaches back to touch Barnaby and he smiles.
I say I don’t want that, but I fear I’m desperate for it. Instead of not wanting it, perhaps it’s really that I only want it in one specific scenario. I want to be reaching back for Gabe, and perhaps I have ruined that possibility before it ever started. Because after all, all of this is really just pretend. Gabe and I like role-playing, and isn’t this just one more elaborate role-play?
When all this is over, we’ll go back to being just friends, because he didn’t want to complicate things, and I assured him that if anyone could avoid complications, it was him.
I should’ve thought about if I could avoid complications.
As we walk, Gabe and Jake are talking about the luge. Hayley pulls close to me, and lowers her voice. “Jake mentioned that you guys might be trying for a baby?”
Cool. So apparently our friends know? I mean, I suppose eventually they are going to have to know, but I really didn’t think about what we would say. In absence of a discussion about what we would say, it seems Gabe has decided to tell them. Except he hasn’t told me what they know. Then again, perhaps if Hayley knows what Jake has told her, I can potentially figure out what Gabe has told the guys.
“We are, it seemed so logical.” Wow Gwen, really astounding sleuth thing there. Surely I am seconds from figuring out what the guys know. New line.
“We are too,” she confides. “Are you doing anything to increase your fertility? I’ve got a few charms that I wear. I could make you some if you want?”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I had no idea that fertility charms were a thing, but Hayley is a little quirky to say the least.
“How long have you been trying? Have you tested yet?”
“No, we’ve only really been trying for like a week and a half… How about you?”
“OK, you got it out of me!” She lowers her voice. “I’m actually pregnant right now! That’s why I think you should take my pregnancy charms, because I think they really worked!”
Hayley is freaking hilarious. She was obviously bursting to talk to somebody about this, and I’m glad I could be here for her.
“How far along are you?”
“Only like a month, really! I kind of made the mistake of figuring out how early you can take a pregnancy test, and it’s earlier than I thought. The first test was super faint, of course, but the line was there. It’ll be really fun to be pregnant together, don’t you think?”
“How soon can you test?” All of a sudden, I’m realizing that perhaps I should have looked into this whole baby making thing. It sounds like Hayley has done a lot of research, while I’m over here just raw dogging it and hoping for the best. You would think that with all of Preston’s concerns about having a baby I would have done some of this research by now, but considering he was the one that wanted the baby, not me, I usually avoided testing until my period came, and by then it was obvious.
“I’ve heard of people seeing a line as soon as 10 days! Which, depending on where you are in your cycle, it sounds like it could be soon for you! Do you have any tests?”
“Not yet, my period isn’t due for a week or so, I figured I would test then.”
“Great, don’t buy any, I have loads left over. I bought a bunch thinking that we might need some time, but it only took two months. Apparently raccoon shifters are known for being virile.”